1 John 2:4, 6 AMPC
Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar and the truth [of the Gospel is not in him.

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

In the early church the devil’s goal was to kill Christianity. So persecution and martyrdom was huge. You see that in Acts. Paul himself was part of that agenda. But the result was the great power of God: earthquakes opened prison doors, Stephen died in glory, and angels broke chains to set prisoners free. Prison guards were converted.

And the persecution proved:

1. The power of God worked miracles for Jesus’ followers.
2. Only those who were absolutely loyal to Christ would dare to join the believers.

Only Light Exposes Darkness

So the enemy changed tactics. He hid his agenda, covered the darkness with lies and infiltrated into the midst of the fellowship. Then came false believers who were not born again, liars and deceivers. The antichrist spirit was unleashed, darkness masquerading as light to ‘deceive many.’

So much in the epistles of the New Testament is taken up with this darkness trying to mix with the genuine light, to diminish the light and extinguish the light, as if that were possible.

This is a constant reality, as much for our day as in the first century. We need to know the Light so that we can discern the darkness and stand against it as John, Jude, and Paul did. Only the Light exposes darkness. You see this vividly in the Book of Acts. Acts 8 is the story of Simon who followed Peter and John and was “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” But he was exposed as a wicked man, a sorcerer, seeking only to buy the Holy Spirit’s power for himself.

Peter fiercely confronted him: “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours and pray that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.”

Peter gave him a directive but Simon gave the responsibility back to Peter. “Pray for me that nothing you have said will come upon me.” No answer from Peter or John is recorded, and Simon isn’t mentioned again.

It appears that Peter and John turned away and went on preaching the Word of the Lord “on their way to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages.”